American Foreign Policy towards North Korea 2001 - 2018

Abstract

This research will shed light on the policy adopted by the United States during the period 2001–2018. This policy was characterized by hostility, tension, and openness to all possibilities, and it did not reflect a relationship between two states as much as it represented the management of a chronic crisis that has preoccupied American policymakers since the 1950s. The research is divided into an introduction and three sections. The introduction highlights the most important historical milestones in the relationship between the two parties. The first section addresses the policy pursued by the George W. Bush administration toward North Korea and the main pillars upon which it was based. The second section analyzes the policy of "strategic patience" adopted by the Obama administration, which relied on economic sanctions, the international community, and influential global powers to change Pyongyang's behavior. The third section examines and analyzes the Trump administration's policy during 2017–2018 toward the North Korean issue, which was based primarily on Trump's efforts to establish a friendly relationship with the North Korean leader. The research reached several conclusions, most notably that US foreign policy changed after September 11th, and that this change was evident in its approach to North Korea.